Inside the Atlanta Hawks fraud: How one executive exposed the cost of complacency
When basketball team Atlanta Hawks hired Lester T. Jones Jr. in 2016 as Director of Financial Planning & Analysis, it looked like a smart move. A promising finance professional joining a high-profile NBA organisation. But by 2025, that promising career had become a federal case. Jones rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President […]
Canada’s new financial crimes agency: a national crackdown on fraud and economic abuse
Canada is preparing to overhaul its approach to financial crime. Budget 2025 unveils the country’s first-ever National Anti-Fraud Strategy: a whole-of-government initiative aimed at curbing the surge in scams, money laundering and consumer-targeted fraud that has plagued the country in recent years. The scale of the problem is alarming. In 2024 alone, Canadians lost […]
Inside BaFin’s 2025 enforcement drive: From Deutsche Bank to J.P. Morgan
Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, has rarely been so visible. In 2025, the watchdog imposed some of its largest fines to date — not just for failures in anti-money-laundering controls, but for broader organisational and governance breaches that go to the heart of what “effective compliance” means. The year was bookended by two headline actions: a […]
October compliance news round-up
What’s in this update? AI browsers raise cyber security alarms as UK data breaches and fines surge. OFSI issues new sanctions penalty while ESG ratings face FCA regulation from 2028. Pregnancy dismissal protections and menopause action plans set to expand under the Employment Rights Bill. Awaab’s Law introduces strict repair deadlines for landlords. Australia’s Tranche […]
Pregnancy dismissals: The government consultation and what it means for employers
The UK government has launched a consultation on “Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers” as part of its wider plan to Make Work Pay. The goal sounds simple: make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant employees and new mothers for at least six months after returning to work — except in specific circumstances. […]
Regulating ESG ratings: What the UK’s new regime means for compliance teams
ESG ratings have become one of the most influential drivers of capital flows in modern finance. Investors use them to assess how exposed a company is to long-term risks that don’t show up neatly in financial statements: carbon transition liability, workplace discrimination claims, cyber breaches, sanctions failures or corruption issues. Ratings aim to quantify how […]
The Asia-Pacific compliance outlook: Are you ready for 2026 regulations?
Compliance managers across Asia-Pacific are staring down a year that will redefine the way organisations operate. Major reforms are coming online at once, from AML, data protection, AI governance, cybersecurity, ESG reporting, whistleblowing, and cross-border enforcement. The region has always been diverse in its regulatory expectations. But in 2026, the patchwork turns into a […]
What’s new in Astute LXP – October 2025 update (v3.4.4)
This month’s release focuses on smoother administration and greater stability across Astute. We’ve refined enrollment controls, added more filtering options, strengthened user sync validation, and boosted performance for reporting. You’ll also notice several small but meaningful improvements to Certificates, Trigger Emails, and Risk Assessments. Enrolment events Once an event has started and learners […]
Sexual harassment compliance in the UK: Your essential FAQ for the Worker Protection Act and Employment Rights Act
Sexual harassment law in the UK is shifting from reactive to proactive compliance. The Worker Protection Act is already in force, requiring all employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at all times. The Employment Rights Act goes further, raising that standard to all reasonable steps and introducing regulatory enforcement, including liability for […]
FATF October 2025 plenary: Newly updated guide to every high risk jurisdiction for money laundering
The FATF’s October 2025 plenary has concluded. Four countries have now exited the FATF Grey List: Burkina Faso Mozambique Nigeria South Africa No new jurisdictions were added. These changes reflect strengthened AML/CFT controls, better enforcement, and progress against FATF action plans — particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The move is expected to help […]